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SD 401 
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FOREST NURSERIES AND 
NURSERY METHODS 

IN EUROPE 



BY 
WILLIAM F. rOX 



R.eprinted fr«m tHe Eli^htH and NintK R.eport8 of tKe Forest, Fiah and 
Game Commission, State of Ne'w "VorK 



J. B. UYON COMPANTf. STATE PRINTERS 
ALBANY. NEAV YORK 



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D. OF D;. 

tr-' 22 gOb 



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ITALIAN FORESTERS. 

OFFICERS OK THE FORESTRY DEPARTMENT. FLORENCE, TIALY. 



A. i-l.-A.-.i-Il 



Forest Nar^crie^ and nar^cr^ ^ctI)odvS: 

in Earope 



By William F. Fox. 



Introdactorv;. 

IN the management of American forests tl:e time has come when it would 
seem evident t<i ail interested in the wnrlc that the future timl)er supjjly 
in many localities is dependent on reforestation. But natural reforestation is 
unsatisfactory from the forester's point of view. In results it falls short, by far, 
of the maximum in ipiantity and tiuality "f merchantable timber which a t^iven 
area can be made to yield through proper methods of silvicultural work. 

The highly satisfactory results attained from planted forests in Europe, where 
this practice has lieen followed fnr twi> centuries or more, justilies clearly the 
adoption of this system iii America. The New Forest in ICngland was "afforested" 
by order of William the Conqueror, in lo-ji), and since then reforestation has been 
practiced from time to time in European countries, mitil cultivated forests are 
now the rule rather than the exception. Throughout ("icrniany, I'Vance, IJelgiuni 
and Italy most of the wooded areas sh(.)\v high forests of a tlensity and regularity 
that indicate plainly their artificial growth. For these and other reasons the 
planting of forests is engaging the attention of American foresters to-day. It is 
no new idea. 

A iilanted forest, like the prnnitive one, is grown from seed, but in the former 
the dissemination is under intelligent control. This ma_\' be done bv l)r(}adcast 
sowing, liy the seed-spot method, or by the intermediate process of raising small 
seedlings in garden or nursery beds; and, large areas of trees are jjropagated 
from wnid-sown seeds, skilfully directed and managed. 

Broadcast sowing may be a desirable method under certain conditions — where 
economy is necessary, where a supply of seedling j)lants cannot be obtained con- 
veniently, or where a rocky, uneven surface, covered with a scrubby gi-owth, 
compels Its use. But it has the disadvantages of uncertainty, irregularity and 
the subseciuent expense of filling in the blanks where seeds failed to germinate. 
As the planting of seedlings at regular intervals gives the forester better control 

201 



202 



REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



of his future work, this plan is in general use abroad. It necessitates, however, 
the establishment of nurseries for the propagation of the young plants. 

The management of tree nurseries, in connection with forest plantations, has 
been carried on for so many years in Europe that the American forester who is 
about to engage in this liranch of silvicultural work will find there an ample field 
in which to study and gain the information available for similar efforts. These 
nurseries will be found in most of the forest regions abroad — the bauviscliule in 
Germany, the pcpinicre in France, and the pianloHaio in Italy. The object of 
these pages is to describe briefly, but as plainly as possible, the technical methods 
employed in the forest nurseries of various European countries. 

For this purpose the descriptions are confined to certain ones in which the 
construction and management are fairly typical of the others in that particular 
country. To attempt more would involve needless repetition and unnecessarily 
extend the scope and province of this article. 

We have heard so much of German forestry and its superior methods that 
our American foresters, when they go abroad for study and information, are too 
apt to devote their time exclusively to travel within Germany. It would be well 
if, when not limited as to time or expense, they were to extend their observations to 
some of the other continental forests and nurseries. But few of our foresters 
seem to have paid any attention to Italy. This may be due to the small per- 
centage of woodlands in that country. But the Italian Government is steadily 
increasing its forest areas, and is conducting silvicultural operations of a higli order. 

The nurseries have an annual output of about 9,000,000 jjlants, and new 
plantations of large areas are made each year. The surplus seedlings, or trans- 
plants, not necessary for fieldwork are distributed free to persons who may need 
them in reforesting private lands. 

The location, area and product of the various nurseries maintained by the 
Italian Government are as follows: 



PROVIN'CE. 



Firenze 
Arezzo 
Firenze 
Belluno 
Bergamo 



Name of the forest nursery. 



Vallombrosa 
Camaldoli 
Boscolungo 
Pian Spiiii 
Pradoni 



Area in 
hectares.* 



5-4538 
7-3354 
2.9605 
2.9836 
I . 6022 



Yearly 

e.xpenditure for 

maintenance. 



Francs. 
6.538.25 
6, 20J.00 

2,978.40 

3,071.76 

669.18 



Numher of 

plants 
produced. 



1,000.000 
800, 000 
600, 000 

1 , 200, 000 
140, 000 



FOKi:.sr N UKSKklES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 



20' 



PROVINXE. 



Brescia 

Cagliari 

Caserta 

Cliieti 

Cosenza 

Foggia 

Gcnova 

Grusscto 

]\racerata 

No vara 

Palermo 

Potenza 

Sassari 

Teramo 



Name of the forest nursery. 



Area in I „ ^^^/'^ , 
hectares * I •^•''Penditure for 
maintenance. 



Begotta 



P>aiiilio .... 
Marticc .... 
Migliano .... 
Giacomelli 
Trincata .... 
Follonica .... 
San Giuseppe 

Aldec 

Lavatoio .... 

Vigna 

Fraigada Pisanu 
Buragna Paggiara . 



2000 



Aie, Maitoppi 1.8000 

I 19.36 

2.0479 

10.6900 

I . 0000 

I . JOOO 

4.0107 
I . 3000 
3 . 8000 

4 . JOOO 

.9416 
2.9994 
2.1814 



Total ' 58.1001 



Francs. 

250. 

883. 

276, 

1.509. 

680. 
960. 

4.235- 
859. 

2.504. 
1.232. 

743- 
1,298. 



f 4 1 . 028 . 56 



Number of 

plants 
produced. 



20, 000 
110,000 
TOO. 000 
300. 000 
600, 000 
100,000 
125,000 
, 500. 000 

35,000 
500. 000 
400, 000 
200, 000 

130.000 
118,000 



8, 978, 000 



* .A. hectare is equal to 2.471 acres. f Or, $7,795.43. 



The above statement will give some idea of the hirg-e extent to which nurseries 
are used by European governments in their work of forest extension. In Germany 
and France the nurseries are much more numerous, owing to the larger area of 
forest, greater amount "f timber cutting, and more extensive replanting. 

The different species of trees propagated in these Italian nurseries are shown 
in the f(illi.>wing list, which was kindly furnished by Inspector A Franchi, of the 
Forestry Department of Tuscany. The l.)otanical designations, some of which are 
not used in this country, are as given in his list, and include some species which 
are rare in America: 

Silver fir Adics alba Willd. {Pinus picca Linn.) 

Norway si)ruce Abies picca Willd. {Finns ahies Linn.) 

Norway maple Acer plalaiioidcs Linn 

Sycamore maple Acer pscndo-platanus Linn. 

European alder Alnus glutinosa Gaertn. 

Speckled alder . . . . A/iius iticana Willd. 

Chestnut Fai^its castanea Linn. 

Beech Fagus sylvatica Linn. 

European ash Fraxinus excelsior Linn. 

Flowering ash Fraxinus ornus Linn. 

Walnut Juglaiis rcgia Linn. 



204 REPORT OF THE FOREST FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

Larch Larix europaea Dec. 

Austrian pine .... . Pinus austriaca Reich. 

Aleppo pine .... Piiuis halepeiisis Mill. 

Corsican pine Pinus laricio Poir. 

Maritime pine Pinus pinaster Ait. 

Stone pine Pinus pinea Linn 

Scotch pine Pinus sylvcstris Linn. 

Turkey oak . . ... Quercus ccr^-is Linn. 

Hull}' or evergreen oak . . Quercus ilex Linn. 

English oak Quercus robur Linn. 

Siberian oak . . ... Quercus sessili flora Smith. 

Cork oak Quercus suher Linn. 

Locust Robinia pseudo-acacia Linn. 

Basswood Tilia grandifolia Smith. 

English elm Ulmus catupestris Linn 

Cypress Cuprcssus sentpervirens Linn. 

Besides these forest nurseries there are those belonging to the societies for the 
replanting of forests, which receive subsidies from the government. 

In the forest nurseries of the government additional native plants are cultivated 
as well as many foreign species. This year at Vallombrosa and Camaldoli the 
hard, or sugar, majjle, Acer saccliaruiii IMarsh. will be cultivated from seeds 
furnished liy the Forestry Department of New York. 

At Camaldoli arc some of the finest forests in Europe and a large nursery 
that, in size and cultural methods, will compare favorably with any. In most of 
the forest managements abroad a preference is given to small nurseries, of two 
acres or less, distributed so that each will be near the place where the seedlings 
will be planted. But at Camaldoli and ^ligliano large areas have been set apart 
for the propagation of seedling trees, and nearly all the public forests in Italy 
are supplied with young plants from these nurseries. 

Camaldoli is in the Apenines, Province of Tuscany, and should not be con- 
founded with the well-known place of that name near Naples. The former is 
easily reached by rail from Florence to Arezzo, thence by a branch railroad to 
Bibbiena, and thence by a drive of fifteen miles up the mountain pass to the old 
monastery, which has been converted by the government into a commodious, 
fashionable hotel. 

The nursery, or piantonaio, at this place covers about thirteen acres, and has 
an altitude of 2,910 feet above the sea. The groimd, which has a gentle slope 
to the northeast, is laid out in terraces so as to afford a level situation for the 
beds. The exposure is favorable, as it furnishes protection from late frosts and 




NUKSKKY ;U':ds shaded by plaxted trees. 

AT CAMAI.IIOLI, PRO\IN(~E OK Tl'SCAXV, ITAl.V. 




FOREST TREE NURSERY, ITALY. 

WEEDINr, T}IE TRAXSPLANT BEDS. 



FOREST NURSERIES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 



205 



the rapid t;vai)()i-atii>n raust-d by south winds. Alth(>ui;h imt closely surrounded 
on all sides by high forests, there is a dense tree growth near by of various age 
classes. Owing to the altitude the natural soil is thin and jioor, but the entire 
surface of the nurserv is deeply covered with rich, friable earth composed largely 
of humus mixed with fertilizers. It has ihe appearance of a fine loam, with no 
black earth in it aside from that brought from the forest near by, and with 
enough clay and sand to give it a light color. 

The beds for conifers are four feet wide, and of various lengths to suit the 
terraces, most of the beds being about thirty feet long. The greater part of 
the area is occupied by transplants, the seed beds needing comparatively small space. 

In preparing the seed lieds the seeds are planted in rows running across the 
beds. Formerly the seeds were sown broadcast in these l)eds, but this was 
abandoned because, as claimed by the forester in charge, by sowing in rows a 
much smaller amount of seed is used, the plants grow stronger and more even 
in size, are more easily weeded, and can be taken up with less work and injury 
to the rc>ots. 

The seedlings are taken from the seed beds when two years old and trans- 
planted into the long beds, where they remain two or three years more. The 
transplants are then four or five years old, from twelve to eighteen inches high, 
and are ready for transfer to the grounds where the final planting for the future 
forest is made. The Italian foresters seldom use two-year-old seedlings in their 
fieldwork, preferring to wait f<ir the four-year-old transplants on account of the 
advantages which the latter have in size, hardiness and better root system. 

The plants are allowed to remain in the seed beds and transplant beds 
respectively as follows: 



Spruce 

Pine 

Larch 

Beech 

Oak 

Maple 

Ash 




The locusts are not transplanted in the nursery, but are taken from the seed 
beds when they are one year old and sent directly to the final plantation in the 
field. 



206 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

The princi[)al species growing in the CamaldoH nursery are: Silver fir, Norway 
spruce, longleaf pine, stone pine, Austrian pine, larch, beech, chestnut and syjamore 
maple. 

No lath frames are used for shade. Protection from heat and drought is 
obtained when necessary by using pine brush, which is stuck into the groinid 
on the sunny side of the beds. Screens of thatched straw are also used for the 
same purpose. Unlike other nurseries in Europe, small trees, twenty-five feet in 
height, or thereabouts, are standing at intervals of twenty feet throughout the 
greater part of the area, and their moving shade contributes to the refreshment 
and protection <if the tender plants. An ample supply of water for irrigation is 
obtained fr(.)m a small, artificial lake situated on the side of a hill just above the 
nursery. 

The beds containing the transplants are kept in fine condition, all the plants 
being alive and green, and at even spaces in the rows. In some of the seed beds, 
however, bare spots may be seen at times, due to the destructive work of birds 
and squirrels. These blanks are also liable to occur after an unusually wet season, 
when the excessive moisture prevents to some extent the germination of the seeds. 

The management of this nursery is in charge of a forestry official who is 
termed in Italy a "brigadier," a title somewhat puzzling to the foresters of other 
countries Avho may have served in the army. The work iif preparing, planting 
and weeding the l)eds is done almost whiilly by women at daily wages of about 
thirty cents each. One woman will set out about 1,200 seedlings in the trans- 
plant beds in a day, a day's work being counted as ten hours. Hence the cost 
of transplants is only one fourth of that in American nurseries. 

Although somewhat of a digression, some mention seems pardonalile here of 
the high forest about Camaldoli, which consists mostly of silver fir, unmixed with 
other woods. An hour's walk to Sacre Eremo takes one over a good road through 
the best of the timber, and affords an opportunity to see this famous species in a 
very heavy stand per acre. The trees are tall, straight and of large diameter, 
the dense growth indicatmg a piissible yield of 70,000 feet, board measure, per 
acre, exclusive of the minor product. It was planted by the monks of Camaldoli 
over a centur}- ago. Protection from fire is attained by patrols, and b\' watchmen 
posted in little cabins placed on surrountling hilltfips and mountain peaks, from 
which they announce by signals the first appearance of smoke. 

But on this tract, containing 3,600 acres, no cutting is seen. In 1901 the 
government enacted a law that no timber shoidd be cut in a public forest within 
a certain distance of any summer resort. Perhaps the Italian legislators had read 
the restrictions in the forestry clause of the State Constitution of New York and 



FOREST NURSERIES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 2O7 

followed that. The proprietor of the hi>tel at Camaldoli seemed satisfied with 
this embar^;ii nn luinberint;' in his immediate vieinity, and lamented the fact that 
on an atljuinini;' tract of 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) a fine forest was being 
cleared away l)y its non-resident owner, a member nf the Austrian ni)iiilit_v. 

At Valhimbrosa there is also a well-managed nursery belonging to the Forestry 
Institute at that place. It is in Tuscany, and the forester desirous of \isiting 
this famous resort can go by rail fmni I'lorence to San Ellero, thence by a cog- 
wheel raj'lway uj) the mountain, five miles, to Saltino. From the latter place it 
is only a few minutes' walk to the Hotel di Foresta and the " Istituto Forestale " 
at Vs'lombrosa. The nursery at this place is on the college grounds, with an 
altitude of 3,050 feet. The air is quite cool in summer, although the temperature 
may be excessively warm in the Tuscan valleys. A high elevation is a desirable 
condition for a forest nursery in this latitude. 

The plot contains between one and two acres, and is situated on a level terract 
surrounded by groves of forest trees. It is further sheltered from wind by the 
mountain which, densely covered with tall firs, slopes upward from the rear of 
the college buildings. The beds, planted mostly with silver fir, are in fine con- 
dition and divided by well-kept paths. Through years of repeated working 
the earth has been converted into a composite of rich soil in which there is a 
large admi.xture of f(.)rest humus. Some of the seedlings are taken up when two 
years old and sent to the plantation direct, without any previous transplanting. 
At times a free distributicju of seedlings is made to farmers or landowners who 
may wish to reforest their denuded lands. 

The nursery at Vallombrosa has a capacity of about 800,000 plants. In 1903 
the species growing there, and the number of each, were as follows: 

Silver fir 400,000 

Norway spruce ... 30,000 

European larch 10,000 

Scotch pine 45,000 

Corsican pine 32,000 

Austrian pure 55,000 

Beech 50,000 

Chestnut 30,000 

Norway maple 1,000 

Sycamore maple 3,500 

Locust 125,000 

Other species 15,000 

Total 796,500 



2o8 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

Adjoining the nursery is an arboretum of several acres, mostly young trees. 
It contains many of our common American species, and to the forester from 
over the sea their familiar appearance is as welcome as the sight of old friends 
in a strange country. With the nursery and arboretum so close at hand, the 
students of the Forestry School have a fine opportunity for study and experience 
in this branch of silvics. 

The dense forests and leafy conditions about Vallombrosa recall readily the 
literary quotation which has made this place so famous. The mountain slopes 
are tliickly covered with fir and spruce, while near the college there are mixed 
woods of pine, locust, sycamore, mountain ash, white birch, chestnut, oak and 
poplar. 

France. 

In a country where the forests are managed mostly under the selection system 
and for the formation of coppice growth, as in France, the need of nurseries is 
consequently not so great as in one where clean cuttings are the rule. But 
whatever the method employed in reforesting, there is always a need for nursery- 
grown plants til fill the fail places. Hence there are pepinieres in all the forest 
districts of France, some of which are absolutely perfect, not only in the 
technical methods employed but, also, in their attractive appearance. 

One of the best, perhaps, of these may be found at Xettes, in the mountains 
of the French Vosges, near Gerardmer, Southeastern France. The plot is rect- 
angular, 200 by 175 feet in size, and is inclosed by a rustic fence of neat design. 
It is surrounded closely on all sides by a dense, high forest of Norway spruce. 
The ground is nearly level, with a slight slope to the south, and has an altitude of 
906 meters. The neat fence, clean paths, long, well-kept beds and pretty summer- 
house at one side well repay the long climb up the mountain from Gerardmer 
to find this secluded spot. The polite and attentive forester in charge wears a 
distinctive uniform, as is the case in all the government nurseries and forest 
reviers in Europe. 

The entire area is devoted to the propagation of conifers — spruce and fir. 
To maintam the regular annual output nine seed beds are made, each about 
sixteen feet long, and inclosed in frames of wide boards placed on edge. These 
seed beds are covered with wire screens to protect them from the depredation of 
birds, and the screens are allowed to remain in place untd August, or until the 
germination has advanced far enough to permit their removal. 

The seedlings, when two years old, are transplanted into the long beds, where 
they remain two years more. The beds conrainina; these transplants are four 







A. KNF.CHTl-L, )*HOTO. 



ROYAL FORESTRY INSTITUTE, VALLOMBROSA. ITALY. 

THE LOCATION OF THE NURSERY APPEARS IN THE BACKCRO L'NH. 




f 5^fRi?*<" K-^t^^mi^^'^ 



i 



■ '<r>>.i,f)t ■ 






^55 




-ff:^^,>»- 



H. G. STE\-f:NS, )-HoTO. 



FOREST TREE XURSERY, AT XETTES. 

IN THE FRENCH VOSGES. 



FOREST NURSERIES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 209 

feet wide and extend from the central walk to the side of the inclosure. The 
seedlings are placed in longitudinal rows, the latter being eight inches apart. 
The natural soil is a rich loam, mixed with humus, to which fertilizers have been 
added each year after the removal of the plants. As a result the four-year-old 
transplants when taken up are strong, thrifty, and from fourteen to eighteen 
inches in height, with a well-developed root system. Owing to the moist climate 
of the French Vosges, the great altitude and the close proximity of the forest, it is 
but seldom that the beds require any watering. 

In other districts of France many of the nurseries are used in part, and in 
some instances entirely, for the propagation of broad-leaved species. In the Forest 
of Roumare, near Rouen, there is a pepiiiicrc which is stocked whollv with beech 
and oak. The beech is raised in seed beds, and then transplanted the same as is 
done with the conifers. The surrounding forests, however, are composed almost 
entirely of Scotch pine in pure stands. But it will be noticed throughout 
Northern France that, where a clean cutting occurs in a forest of the latter species, 
the ground is often left to reforest itself by natural dissemination. 

There are several nurseries in the Forest of Rouvray — Department of the 
Seine — which are largely occupied by conifers, and in which the coniferous beds 
are frequently failures, owing to the depredation of rabbits. The foresters seemed 
to be unable to protect their inclosures from these pests. This is not surprising, 
for our American nurseries suffer serious injury at times from rodents. In the 
winter of 1904, after a fall of snow, one of the large forest-tree nurseries in 
Northern Illinois suffered a loss in white pine seedlings, caused by a swarm of 
field mice that cut off' the stems close to the ground and inflicted damages 
estimated at §5,000 before their presence was discovered. 

I^clcjiam. 

Although Belgium has no place on the pages of our forestry textbooks, 
seventeen per cent of its area is well woodeii. Its forests are of a high class 
that indicate an intelligent, intensive management, and the extensive formation 
of artificial ones is provided for by numerous nurseries. 

In the great Forest of Soignes, at Groenendael, there is a pepiiiicrc of two 
acres, in which some interesting experiments are carried on at the present time 
in addition to the regular work. Some germinating beds are set apart for testing 
the relative efficacy of various materials for covering and protecting the tender 
yearlings. For this purpose trials are made of straw, dead leaves, moss, dried 
manure, humus, plain earth pressed down around each plant and plain earth applied 
14 



2IO RErtJKT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND (lAME COMMISSION. 

loosely. The results thus far are indeterminate, but seem to favor the use of 
dead leaves. Mention is made of this matter here, because each of these materials 
is in use in one place or another. 

Other beds are devoted to experiments in deep, medium and shallow planting. 
Thus far the best results have been attained by a medium depth in which the 
root-collar was slightly covered. E.Kperiments are also being made with reference 
to quick and delayed transplanting. As might be naturally expected, of the 
plants which were set out immediately all lived, while most of those which were 
delayed died sooner or later, according to the period of delay. 

Interesting tests were made in trimming the roots of the two-year-old seedlings 
before transplanting. The thriftiest plants were obtained from those with uncut 
roots, a fact which seems to be at variance with tiie practice in some of the 
German nurseries. 

Experiments were also made to ascertain the relative ability of seedlings to 
withstand the effects of sun and frost. While it was found that certain species 
were much more susceptible to injury in this respect than others, it also appeared 
that none were hardy enough to enable the forester to dispense entirely with some 
kind of protection. 

In one part of the inclosure mustard plants are used to furnish shade for 
the tender sfiecies growing there, while some of the beds are covered with racks 
on which straw and brush are placed for protection from the sun. Many of the 
beds which had been planted with broad-leaved species contained young trees 
from six to eight feet high. The coniferous transplants were not over twelve 
inches in height, although four years old. In general, the minor details of the 
technical work is the same as that described later on in connection with the 
German nurseries. 

This nursery, which is quite irregular in outline, is nearly level, with a slight 
slope to the south. Labels, neatly and plainly lettered, which can be read at a 
glance by one standing in the paths, are placed in each bed to show the species 
planted there. About one half of the area is occupied by broad-leaved plants, 
conspicuous among which are ash, beech, European chestnut and oak, the latter 
including the red, scarlet, English and pedunculate. This place is well worth 
visiting by any forester who may happen to be in its vicinity. 

Adjoining the nursery, and separated by a fence, is an arboretum which was 
commenced in 1S97, and hence the trees are small. But it already contains three 
hundred and twenty-one species, among which our native American trees are 
largely represented. 







H. <.. STH\ E.\S IHulO, 



FOREST TREK NURSERY, NEAR GERARDMER, FRANCE. 

SEED BEDS CCUERKD WITH WIRE SCREENS TO PROTECT THE SEED FROM lilRDS. 




■w — ^Km — ^wpism^ 




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1 1 






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■■■;■ ,W' ■-,- »*: 



m^^ 



n '7 



K: ^ 




mA. ■'> 






NORWAY SPRUCE, FOUR YEARS OLD, ONCE TRANSPLANTED. 

BLACK FOREST. 



FOREST NURSERIES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROl'E. 211 

leaden. 

The extensive areas of planted woods in the BLick Forest require a large 
number of nurseries for carrying on the work and for renewing the growth 
on lands as fast as the timber is removed. The well-managed baiiiiisclnilc at 
Geioldsau, near Baden-Baden, is a fair type of the small but numerous nurseries 
that may be found in the various districts of the Schwarzwald. 

It has a sqiuire area of about half an acre, is located in a valley running east 
and west, and is situated aliout one hundred feet above the bottom of this \-alley 
on the southern slope. The forest approaches closely on three sides, while the 
precipitous slojje on the opposite side of the valley is also well covered with tree 
growth. The nursery is surrounded by a paling fence, and a good road, used mostly 
for hauling timber, skirts the lower side of the inclosure. 

The area contains one hundred and si.xty-eight beds, each fifteen feet long and 
forty inches wide, separated b)' paths of convenient width. Two broatl paths, 
four feet wide, one running thrcjugh the middle up the slope and one at right 
angles to it, divide it into four equal parts. The main paths which separate 
the beds, and which run up the slope, are three feet wide, while the crosspaths 
at the ends of the beds are twelve inches wide. 

The earth in the beds is a rich, s:indy loam, prepared by mixing one loatl of 
ordinary f(.irest soil with one of maniu'e. This compijst, until used, is piled just 
outside the fence, where it is allowed to remain undisturbed for three years. 
Three large heaps are necessarily kept on hand to furnish the proper annual 
supply. 

The seed beds, eight in number, occupy only five per cent of the total area. 
These beds ha\'e a framewcjrk of boards aniund their edges, eight inches high, 
and are covered with vi'ire screens of a small mesh, which are kept there until the 
seeds have germinated to protect them from the depredation of birds. The seeds 
are sown thickly and broadcast instead of in rows. 

If the supply of plants from the seed beds is insufficient to stock the area set 
apart for transplants, the deficiency is made up by gathering two-year-old seedlings 
from the adjacent forest. 

In 1903 the species growing in this nursery were: 

(i) Weisstanne, or silver fir, three and four years old. 

{2) Rottanne, or Norway spruce, four years old. 

(3) Sitka spruce (Abies sitchiiisis), three years old. 

(4) Forle, or Scotch pine, f(.>ur years old. 

(5) Douglas spruce, four years old. 



2 12 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

In addition there were, in a few beds which contained an assortment of species, 
some larch, sycamore, maple, Colorado spruce, white fir [Abies concolor) and Larix 
leptolcpis. 

The seedlings, as customary in most nurseries, are allowed to remain in the 
seed beds until they are two years old, when they are transplanted into other beds 
in the same nursery. These transplants are set out lengthwise of the beds in 
eight rows, fifty in each row, four inches apart in the row, and with a space 
of about six inches between the rows. This is closer than usual, but the forester 
claims that if the rows of transplants are set too far apart there is a tendency to 
fork, to the formation of two leaders, which, by the way, is one of the 
disadvantages urged by some against a plantation formed of nursery stock. 

In transplanting a furrow is first made with a "hand-plough," which is drawn 
by one man and guided by another. Then a board with notches cut in the edge at 
distances corresponding to the spaces between the plants is placed on the bed with 
the notches over the furrow. The seedlings are then placed, one in each notch, the 
roots covered with prepared soil, and pressed into place. In some nurseries a 
planting board* is used which has half circles along the edge at the required 
spaces instead of V-shaped notches. 

The longer roots of each seedling in the Geroldsau Nursery are clipped 
slightly to insure a greater amount of branching and a better root system in the 
transplants. This is deemed desirable by the forester, as it saves the expense 
of making a deeper hole when the final planting is made in the forest, and 
because there is less liability to loss in transplanting. 

The transplants of the Weisstanne remain from three to four years in the beds, 
mostly four years, while the Rottanne are held in the transplant beds from two 
to three years, the length of time in each case depending on the height-growth 
attained. For the Rottanne a height of about twelve niches is deemed desirable 
in the transplant before removing it from the bed and taking it to the forest for 
final planting; but the Weisstanne, which is slower in growth, is removed from 
the nursery when eight or ten inches high. 

At the corners and sides of each bed there are posts, about three feet high, 
which support long jioles placed horizontally on top of the posts. If the post has 
no natural crotch in which the poles can rest, a hole is bored near the top of 
the stake and a round sticK is inserted to furnish a bearing. From the first to the 



*In New York we use this kind of board in our nursery work, but we set out our transplants 
here in rows running across the bed, which enables us to use a shorter board and to make the 
hirrows by hand with a trowel pressed deeply into the soft earth. Furthermore, with rows placed 
this way a man sitting in the path can do the weeding more easily. Still, each way has its 
advantages, and, some disadvantages also. 








' ' -^ ■-...: .,:J 



E^, 



MANCHOT, PHOTO. 



SEED BED OF SCOTCH PINE, TWO YEARS OLD. 

IN NURSERV AT GEROLDSAU, UADEN. 




<>>W^ 



./* 





















G. SIii.\ENs, IHUTO. 



BEDS OF FOUR-YEAR-OLD TRANSPLANTS, NORWAY SPRUCE. 

IN NURSERV BELONGING TO A PRIVATE FOREST, GERMANV. 



FOREST NURSERIES AND NURSERY METllOUS IN EUROPE. 2 \ T, 

twentieth of May these horizontal poles are covered with brush to protect the 
transjilants from the frost which is Hable to occur in the valley. 

The total number of transplants in this nursery, in 1903. was 65,000, of which 
17,000 si.\-year-old Weisstanne were to be set out in plantations the following year. 
The Weisstanne formed the principal species raised in this plot, comprising ninety 
per cent of the plants. The Rottanne, or Norway spruce, occupied only five beds, 
or about three per cent of the area. There were also a bed of Sitka spruce, 
one of Douglas fir and one vi Scotch pine. But there is another nursery in this 
revier, under the same fdrstmeister, in which the plants are nearly all Rottanne. 

The cost of the plants, when placed in their final position in the forest, is 
from 2 to 4 pfennig (one half to one cent) per plant, a laborer being able to set 
out from 1,000 to 1,200 in a day. In setting out these plants in the field he uses 
a kind of mattock for making the holes, the same as is used in nuv plantations in 
New York. The daily wage of a laborer in this range is i mark So pfennigs, and 
hence the cost of annual planting in the fores';, at the rate of 1,100 plants per 
day, is 1.6 pfennigs per plant, which leaves the apparent cost of the nursery work 
from .4 to 2.4 pfennig per plant, not including certain incidental expenses, which 
increase it somewhat.* 

There arc six nurseries in the Baden Revier, each about the size of the one 
at Geroldsau; but they yavy greatly in the species propagated, some of them 
having ninety to ninety-five per cent of their area devoted to Norway spruce. 
The broad-leaved species are cultivated only to a sn.iall extent in this jiart of the 
Schwarzw lid. 

The nursery in the Wendlingen Revier, near Freiburg, is also devoted largely 
to the propagation o( the silver fir. It is a permanent one, so denoted to 
distinguish it frcnn the temporary ones often made to supply a local need. The 
natural soil is from gneiss, and is a limy sand. ^Manure is used as a fertilizer, 
that from cows being preferred. This is spread over the ground and spaded 
under before the seed is sown. Thomasmehl and kainit also are used. 

The seeds in the seed beds are sown in rows, the rows being three inches 
apart, and are dropped so thickly in the row that they nearly toucli each other. 
The l)eds are then covered with branches of fir or beech, which, are allowed to 
remain all summer, at first chjse to the groimd, after which they are raised 
gradually until they are about twenty inches high. These shades are also left on 
through the winter to keep the ground from freezing and heaving with the frost. 
Moss, or fine brush, laid between the rows might serve this purpose as well. 



* These figures seem somewhat qiiestionaljlc, but they were noted down carefully fruin tht 
forester's personal statement. 



214 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

The seedlings are transplanted, when two years old, in rows six inches apart 
and at spaces in the row of about three and one half inches. They are held in 
the transplant beds until they are five years old before removing them to the 
plantations. 

Although the purchase of seeds for nursery purposes is a common practice in 
some localities, the forester in charge of this revier gathers his own supply. 
As to the silver fir, a full mast occurs about every five years, although this 
species yields a small amount of seed each year. The cones are gathered about 
the middle of October. A man climbs up among the branches and breaks off the 
cones, which are carried immediately to the storehouse and spread out so that 
the air can circulate through them freely. They are stirred every day and kept in 
the drying-room until the scales have fully opened or fallen apart. They are then 
put into baskets and shaken vigorously until the seeds have fallen to the bottom, 
after which they are easily separated from the refuse material. 

The seed beds are sown in autumn, sometimes in November or December, if 
snow does not fall too early. If the weather is very moist the cones may 
not open in time for fall planting. In that case the seed is, of course, sown 
the next spring. 

The absence of nurseries in some parts of the Black Forest, or elsewhere, 
does not necessarily imply that young plants are not used there in reforesting 
operations. In the Sulzburg reviers, for instance, the oberforster, as explained 
by him, is doing very little in the way of seed plots, because he can buy seed- 
lings from the commercial nurseries as cheaply as, if not cheaper than, he can 
raise them himself. This is not remarkable, as it is evident that in a nursery 
of one hundred acres or more, devoted solely to commercial purposes, the plants 
can be raised more cheaply, and with a profit, than in one of two acres, espe- 
cially as in the latter case the forester has other and more important duties 
that engross his attention. Furthermore, under the excellent and intensive 
management of the Sulzburg reviers a satisfactory reproduction is obtained 
through natural dissemination. 

N^Avfit^ertand. 

As most of the forests in this country occupy slopes, more or less steep, 
they exercise protective functions which necessitate the selection system in their 
exploitation, and hence there is not the same need for nurseries as in countries 
where clean cutting is practiced. Reproduction by natural dissemination is largely 
the rule, noticeably so in the forest of the Sihlwald, famous for its intensive 
management and the highly profitable returns per acre which have been main- 




FukK.^1 Ikhli NUkSKkV, NEAk LUZERNE. SWITZlCkLAXlJ. 

ENCLOSKD Willi A llEPi.E INSTEAIl OE A EENCE. 




A. KNtCHTEL, I'HOTO. 



TEMPORARY XL'RSEkV. 



PATHS PLANTEIl I'ERMAN ENTLV WITH NORWAY SPRUCE, WHICH WILL BE LEET IN IM.Ai K WllEX THE STOCK IN 
THE BEDS IS EINALI.V REMOVEIl. A I'LANTATION THUS TAKES THE I'LAC E OE THE NURSERY. 



FOREST ^■URSEKI^;s AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 215 

tained annually for a long term of years. Still there are several nurseries con- 
nected with the management of the various cantonal forests, but the technique 
as observed does not vary materially from that already described. 

Although nurseries are not as essential to the management of high forests in 
Switzerland as elsewhere, a large number are used in the work of forest extension 
and the formation of new forests on wild or cultivated land that had hitherto not 
been used for the production of timber. Fri:>m 187S to 18S5 the annual output 
i_)f the nurseries devoted to this purpose amounted, on an average, to 5,263,474 
conifers and 351,430 broad-leaved ])lanls.''' 

In the Wiuterthur range temporary nurseries are used to a consideralile extent. 
In some (jf these, when the stock is removed, a sufficient number of traiisplants 
are left standing at pro|ier intervals in the beds to form an artificial forest 
in time on the site of the abandoned nursery plot. The permanent nurseries 
wherever seen are in admirable contlition and have an attractive appearance. 
One of them, near Luzerne, is enclosed by a well-kept hedge instead of a fence, 
as customary e\ciy where else, and is equipped with water pii)es and several 
hydrants for sprinkling the beds. 

In the canton of Zurich there is a nursery connected with the Forest Research 
Station, in which experiments a]'e carried on with different species of forest-tree 
seedlings and plants. It is situated at Adlisberg, foiu' miles from the city of 
Zurich, at an elevation of two thousand three hundred feet above the sea. 

To determine the species suitable for [jlanting in various parts of Switzerland, 
soils from these places are brought to the nursery, seeds are planted, and the 
little trees as they grow are studied and their development carefully recorded. 

An important experiment is being carried on with the seed of Norway spruce. 
Good seed collected in the mountains, some from trees growing at an altitude of 
one thousand five hundred feet aljove sea le\-el, and some from similar trees 
at an altitude of six thousand feet, were planted in a bed in the nursery, half of 
the bed being given to each kind of seed. The seedlings, now six years old, 
show a remarkable difference in height, those from the seed taken at the lower 
altitude being twenty-four inidies tall, while those from the higher altitude have a 
height of only twelve inches. 

The natural laws under which the roots of trees are developed are being studied 
as follows: Boxes thirty inches high, eighteen inches wide and six inches through, 
with the sides made of glass, are filled with earth and sunk into the ground their 
full length, the glass sides standing vertically in close contact with the earth out- 
side the box. In each box is planted a tree, which, as it grows, sends some of 



*U. S. Consular Reports. 1887. 



2l6 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

its roots against the glass sides. From time to time the boxes are pulled out of the 
ground and the root growths observed and recorded. 

Observations upon white pine, Scotch pine, silver fir, beech, oak, birch and 
maple have been carried on for three ^-ears on plants aged from one to six years. 
During the winter, from November till !March or April, the roots of the needle 
trees, as observed in the boxes, make no growth. Those of deciduous trees, on 
the contrary, do not go through this period with complete rest, but grow wher- 
ever the temperature becomes mild, even in midwinter. In February and the 
beginning of ]March, however, the roots show very little growth. 

It is noticed that in the spring the roots begin to develop before the buds, in 
some cases several weeks. The larch and alder are an exception to this rule. 
The buds of these species have been observed to unfold even a month before the 
roots started. 

Since the soil has a temperature below that of the lower air it follows that the 
roots begin their growth at temperatures lower than that necessary for the develop- 
ment of the aerial parts. The minimum temperature necessary for the growth of 
needle trees, as recorded by a thermometer placed in the boxes, is from five to s'x 
degrees Centigrade ; for the maple and beech, from two to three degrees. 

The roots have also a summer rest, in August and September, a time when 
the water content of the soil in the nurser)' is at its minimum. This interruption 
may last from three to eight weeks, according as the summer is wet or dry. Then 
fiillows in October a period of more active growth and of longer duration in the 
deciduous trees than in the conifers. 

The most rapid development takes place at the beginning of summer. The 
oak has its maximum at the end of June or the beginning of |ulv. The root 
growth is then about 3.54 inches a day, that of the fir and Scotch pine about 
2.36 inches. From these observations a judgment is formed as to the most favorable 
time to plant trees in the forest. For the success of a jjlantation it is essential that, 
as soon as the trees are placed, the roois shoukl enter upon a period of active 
growth to replace the water taken from the tree by evaporation. On the other 
hand, the plantation should be made when transpiration is at its minimum. These 
conditions are usually best secured in the spring. In a country, however, where 
the spring is usually dry and the fall mild and moist, the plantation should be 
made in the autiunn. 

For deciduous trees to grow well when planted in autumn they must form 
root hairs before the arrival of the great cold, and must lose very little water bv 
evaporation during the winter. Hence, in countries where the winter is very cold 
and dry these, as well as the conifers, should be planted in the spring. 



FOREST NUKSliKIES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROTE. 21/ 

Alsace. 

The Oberfnrsterei :\[iiiister, in tlit- (lerman Vosges, has an area of 21,325 acres, 
of which one half, or thereabouts, is occupied by silver tir;* the remainder by 
Norway spruce, Scotch pine (1,500 acres), beech (mixed with majile), elm and 
carpinus (5,000 acres), oalc (1,150 acres), chestnut (180 acres) and locust. 

The total nursery area lor the tract is four acres, which furnish an average 
annual output of 160,000 coniferous plants. This nursery area is in several small 
plots distributed conveniently throughout the tract. One of these, located about 
five miles fr<im Metzeral, has an area of five ares (5,380 square feet). It is in the 
forest and is closely surrounded by trees. A wire fence of four strands, with a 
round toji-rail of poles, protects it from deer. The exp(jsure is towards the west. 
It has a slope of one foot in eight, terraced with retaining walls of stone three 
feet high. 

The soil is from gneiss, with some lime in its composition. Thomasmehl and 
kainit are used as fertilizers;! but as kainit is strong and liable to injure the plants 



*The silver fir (.llihs pn/iiiala) of S.mUiern Euroiu- resembles the Aiiierienn balsam closely 
ill its foliage ami in many oilier respects: but it is much larmier ami taller ami lias a lietter fibei . 

\'riioinasiiiflil. ur T/ioinauiilaikc- (Thomas slag), is a slag or scoria produced in the ■■Thomas- 
Gilchrist" iiroccss tor manuiacturing steel, and is obtainetl as a by piroduct from certain rich 
phosphatic iron ore. In this process the phosphorus of the crude iron is converted into phosphoric 
acid, which passes into the slag in combination with lime and iron. This slag is ground finely 
and sold as fertilizer. It contains from thirty to forty per cent phosphate of lime, the greatest jiart 
of which appears to be in an available condition, so that the slag, when ground or pulverized, 
may be used on the soil as a source of phosiihoric acid without further treatiuent. 

It is a new form of phosphate to which attention has already been attracted throughout Europe, 
and which has been tried experimentally to smne extent in this country. From extensive trials of 
it at experiment stations it seems that all such slags have not an e.pial value, some being much 
more available to the plants than others. The better classes uf slag have, however, given better 
results than bone meal, and have been sold at so low a rate the foresters can use it profitably. 
This slag meal is now manufactured at Potlstown, Pa., and is put on the market under the name 
of "odorless phosphate." 

Kainit, or KalidungHiii:. is a product of some salt mines, notably the mines at Stassfurt, 
Germany. It is a mixture of compounds containing about twenty-five per cent sulphate of potash, 
equivalent to twelve per cent of actual potash, together with about thirty-five per cent of common 
salt, some sulphate and chloride of magnesia, and a small amount of gypsum. Large amounts are 
annually exported to .America, one year as high as 87,635 tons. 

Kainit, sprinkled on manure, tends to the checking of fermentation ; also, to attract and hold 
moisture. One precaution should be observed in the use of this fertilizer: animals should be 
kept away from it. as their feet may be injured by treading in it. It is better, therefore, to apply 
it mixed with fresh manure, and to cover the ground afterwards with some kind of litter. [See 
bulletins on "Commercial Fertilizers," issued by the Departments of Agriculture in various 
States. For further definitions of Thomasmehl and Kainit, see Illustriertes Forst und Jagd 
Lexikon, by Dr. Hermann von Furst. Berlin: Paul Parey. 1904.] 



2l8 KKPOKT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

if applied when fresh, kali salts are used at times. This is a product of tlie 
German mines, containing about fifty per cent sulphate of potash and thirty-five 
per cent sulphate of magnesia. 

Silver fir and Norway spruce are the species cultivated for the most part. 
These are transplanted when two years old, and allowed to remain until they are 
four or five years old before the}' are taken to a plantation. 

In winter, to prevent the plants from heaving out by frost, they are covered 
with leaves from deciduous trees. Twigs of fir are stuck into the beds at close 
intervals, so that the wind will not disturb the leaf covering. 

In no European country have improved forestry methods attained a higher 
development and degree of efficiency than in Saxony. In the United States con- 
sular rep(.>rts it is stated that there is probably no country in the world where higher 
revenues from the forests are obtained, nor where greater or more intelligent care 
is bestowed upon them, and the forestry publications, official or otherwise, issued 
in that country indicate that this statement is well founded. Forests of wide 
extent e.xist everywhere, not only on the Erzgebirge and on the mountains of 
the Saxon Switzerlantl, but also in the vicinity of the principal cities. 

The area devoted to the formation of coniferous forests is six times that 
given to the growth of deciduous species. Gen. C. C. Andrews,* in his "Notes 
on European Forestry," says of the Saxon forests: "The entire area planted 
annually varies according to circumstances. On the average it will reach 6,900 
acres. Of this area 800 acres are planted up with seeds, and 6,ioo acres are 
planted up with plants." This statement will give some idea "f the large number 
of nurseries in .Saxony which are necessary in making such extensive plantations. 

On the Olbernhau Revier, in the Erzgebirge, there are several nurseries. This 
revier contains 4,694 acres, of which four fifths is covered with Norway spruce. 
The nurseries are temporary ones {saatschiilc iiiistdudige), small plots situated 
convenient to the areas in which the plants are to be set out. 

The soil is good, consisting of disintegrated gneiss with considerable lime. 
For the temporary nurseries, small areas only are used. When a new place is 
selected for a "saatkamp," as the plot is called, the ground is not fertilized 
at first; but if it is used for a second crop the ground receives an addition of 
Thomas slag or kainit. Potash (kali) is sometimes applied instead of kainit, as 
the latter is too strong, and if used when fresh it injures the plants at times. 



■Ninth Annual Report, ^linnesota Forest Commission. St. Paul. 1904. 




'"^iSSS^ 



\}-A. H I Kl . iHur 



NURSERY WITH SEED REDS PROTECTED FROM BIRDS AND MICE BY WIRE SCREENS 

AND STONE BORDERS. 

AT DLIlEUXIIAr, IN THE KRZCKIURCK, SAXONV. 






i.;.iL> 11 1 1-,L, 1 llOTo, 



YOUNG PLANTATION (iF NORWAY SPRUCE .MADE BY THE SEED-SPOT METHOD. 

TIlARA.XliT. SA.XONY. 



FOREST NUKSKRIICS AND XUKSEKV METHODS IN EUROPE. 2I9 

These fertilizers are applied immediately after the plants are removed from the 
nursery, which is j;enerally done in Apiil. They are mixed with the soil, after 
which the ground is left undisturbed for two weeks. The beds are then made 
and the seed ia sown in them. ^Vhere the nitrogen in the soil has been lost 
through washing and leaching, lupine is sown in the spring and left to grow until 
September, wb.cn it is spaded under. 

The seeds in each row are placed thickly, nearly touching each other, in 
a depression made by a square-edged slat two and erne cpiarter inches wide. The 
dejiression thus made is about three quarters of an inch in depth. The rows 
are about four inches apart. The beds are forty inches (one meter) wide, 
with intervening jiaths of one foot in width. For sowing an area of one are 
{1,076 square feet) about seventeen and one half pounds of spruce seed is used. 
The seeds are not soaked, but are coaled with red lead to prevent the birds from 
eating them. After sowing, the seeds are covered lightly with sand which has 
been mixed with a cnmjjost made from leaves and grass. 

The beds are covered with low screens of brush, preferably pine, which are 
left on the frame until the latter part of Jidy. Water is not used for sprinkling 
unless there is a supply conveniently at hand. 

Seedlings are left in the seed l.)eds until they are two years old, when, as a 
general rule, they are transplanted into other beds; but sometimes they are left 
in the germinating beds until they are four years old, in which case they are 
sent ilirect to the field plantation. The climate in the Erzgebirge, however, is 
so imfavorable that the foresters deem it advisable, in general practice, to use 
transplants. 

The expense of raising two-year-old seedlings in the Olbernhau Revier is from 
one ti) two marks per thousand [dants; to prepare the soil and transplant them 
costs one and one half marks more jier thousand; and to set them out in a 
plantation, from ten to fifteen marks [)er thousand. 

Field planting by the seed-spot method, a motlified form of nursery work, is exten- 
sively practiced in vSaxony, and plantations of this kind are made at Tharandt, the 
seat of the Royal Forest Academy. The Saxon foresters generally sow the seeds 
along the edge of the strij) or patch, where they are not so liable to be heaved 
or thrown nut by frost. In the Erzgebirge, wherever this method is used, spruce 
13 not mixed with pine or larch as at Tharandt. At the latter place a mixture is 
used to protect the spruce from the deer. A few seeds of pine and larch are 
mixed with the spruce seed, and as the former have a more rapid growth, and 
are preferred by the deer, the spruce remains iniinjured. 



220 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

At the Oberwiesenthal Revier, in the Erzgebirge, along the Austrian border, 
the technical work in the nurseries is about the same as that just described. 

The nurseries are devoted almost exclusively to the propagation of Norway 
spruce. The soil for the most part is of a kind known there as fillet, which is 
composed largely of fine particles of gneiss. 

For fertilizing bone meal {aitfgeschlossciics) is used exclusively, sixteen pounds 
per are. In making a plot ready the trees are cut, the stumps taken out, the 
ground dug up and thrown into heaps in autumn, after which the bone meal is 
mixed with the heaps. In the following spring these heaps are spread over the 
ground, beds are made and sown, the seed having been mixed with lead-oxide, 
two pounds of the latter to sixteen pounds of seed. The depression in the bed 
having been made, the seed is sown thickly in them and then covered with a thin 
layer of fine earth that has been put through a sieve, after which the surface is 
pressed down gently. 

Dry branches of spruce, bare of foliage, are laid on the beds for shade, and 
are held in place by poles laid on them. This brush is left on the beds until 
the plants come up through the ground, when it is removed and is not used again. 
Dead branches are used, because the spruce needles, which otherwise would fall 
on the beds, are heating in their efifect and would injure the plants. 

In July or August fresh humus is strewn between the rows, two cubic meters 
per are. This keeps the ground moist, hinders the growth of weeds and prevents 
heaving out by frost. This humus, composed of decayed needles, is found in the 
forest underneath the layers of freshly fallen leaves. 

The plants are not watered. The foresters in these reviers claim that if water 
is once used during a drought the sprinkling must be continued until rain comes, 
or the plants will deteriorate in a noticeable degree. 

The seed beds are made one and two tenths meters wide and of any convenient 
length. On a slope they are laid out lengthwise across the slope so that the flow 
of water from a heavy rainfall is checked or hindered. Side paths are twenty-five 
centimeters wide, and are made shallow, so that the beds will not dry out too 
much along their sides. The end paths are fifty centimeters broad, and are a 
little deeper. If the slope is such that there is danger of flooding and washing, 
a ditch is dug near the upper side of the inclosure, which is fenced for protection 
from deer. 

As usual, the plants are left in the seed beds until two years old, when they are 
transplanted into other beds in the same nursery and treated with a fertilizer the 
same as the seed beds. At Oberwiesenthal the transplant beds are nearly square, 
three and five tenths centimeters on a side, with paths fifty centimeters wide. 



•■-:>! 




;r 



-J;^- 






■^ 












-^.. 



,'"*' 



Tl'MI'ORARY NURSERY. NORTHERN AUSTRLV. 

THE GROUND nL TSIDI-: THE FENCE IS TLAXTED WITH I- OUR-VEAR-OLD TRANSPLANTS. 



5-; C 



PART dl" F()Ki:ST TREE NURSERY, TIIL'RIXGLX. GERMANY. 

THE BEDS I.\ Tin-; ]'..\(;K(:k( U'N D, WITH ROWS SnoWINc"; DISTIXlTL\', ARI'- WHITE I'lNE. 



FOREST NUKSKRIKS AMi NURSERY MKTllOIiS IN EUROPE. 22 1 

Square beds are very unusual in Eunipean nurseries, althout^h in some of the 
commercial nurseries in Ciermany large areas tilled with transplants may be seen 
in which there are no jjaths. 

A spade is used to take u|) the seedlings fur transj)lanting. It is shoved 
down between the rows, then jiressed upwards, after which the jjlants are gently 
and carefully removed 1)_\' the workman with his fingers and placed in a boxdike 
frame math; of slats. The seedlings aie carried to the new bed, where they are 
set out in drills fuur inches apart and the earth ])ressed hrmlv by hand around 
the roots. The rows or drills in the transplant beds are made at intervals of five 
inches. The infant trees are transj^lanted only once in the nursery and are left 
there until they are five years old, as the climate is somewhat severe. \\'eeding is 
necessary only twice a year, in the spring and fall. 

In the Erzgebirge a jjlot is generally used for a nursery only once or twice, 
after which it is abandoned. If used a second time, bone meal and humus are 
api)lied in the same t]uantities as at first. The humus is not only a fertilizer, 
but 'it acts mechanically, making the soil looser where it is too firm and firmer 
where it is too loose. 

Field plantations are made from the middle of May until the middle of June, 
the spring being late in these reviers, as they are situated 2,Soo feet or more 
above sea level. The stumps are not removed from the ground which is to be 
})lantcd, but good earth is hauled there and distributed in small heaps, and in 
quantities of about ten cubic meters per hectare (two and one half acres). 

Transplants are taken out of the nursery bed and heeled in. At the proper 
time they are hauled in a wagon to the planting groimd, and heeled in again as 
deep as they stoud in the nursery. They are taken up again as fast as needed, 
placed in pails or baskets and carried to the men who do the planting. They are 
planted 1.4 meters apart, and are set in the earth that is thrown iqj at the side 
of the hole (/oc-/////i^r//'//a/t.::ii)/^-), twi:) or three handfuls of the good earth being- 
packed around the roots of each. By this method the plants receive nourishment 
from the grass and sod beneath the hillock. 

Tlie preparation of the ground for a seed plot costs about 22 marks per are, 
the expense being made up as follows: Clearing and digging the ground, 10 marks; 
bone meal, 1.20 marks; seed, 1.20 marks; making the beds and sowing the seed, 
5 marks; covering with l.)rush, 2 marks; lead oxide, o.io marks: spieading hiniius, 
3.2 marks — or about $5-50 for a plot 33 feet square. These figures may seem 
rather high, but they were furnished by the oberfiirster from his account book. 

Transi)lanting costs: Digging over the ground in autumn, 10 marks; bone 
meal, 1.2 marks; making beds, 3 marks; trans[)lanting, 10 marks, and humus, 



222 UEPORT OF TIIH FORKST, I-ISII AND GAME COMMISSION'. 

3.2 marks; total, 27.4 marks per are, or about $6.75 per area of t,t, feet square. 
Removing the plants from the nursery and setting them out in a plantation 
costs about §4.25 per 1,000 plants, and to grow the trees in the nursery, ready 
for planting, about $1.75 per 1,000. 

TI)arincjia. 

At Eisenach, in the Thuringian Forest, there is a revier of about 11,000 acres 
in which there are six permanent nurseries, each in the vicinity of the planting 
groimds where the young stock will be needed. 

The soil is fertile, being composed largely of disintegrated gneiss and feldspar. 
The nurseries are located on gentle slopes, where the plots can have a northern 
or eastern exposure in order to avoid so far as possible any injury from frost, and 
preferably on land from which a growth of beech has been removed. In many of 
them sufficient space is maintained between the sides of the enclosure and the 
forest so that the ground will not be shaded by tall trees. Protection from wind 
is deemed unnecessary. 

In preparing the plot the trees are cut and the stumps taken out. The ground 
is spaded to the depth of one foot, so that it may freeze and pulverize in the 
winter. In the sjjring it is again dug over and beds are made, thirty-nine inches 
wide, with narrow sidepaths one foot in width. 

Fertilizers are not applied for two or three years. Then humus and rich earth 
are mixed with the soil immediately after the plants are removed. Seed is sown as 
soon as the danger from frost is passed, about the last of April. The coating 
of the seeds with red lead is deemed unnecessary here. The rows in the seed 
beds are four and one half inches apart. A narrow slat of wood, pressed into 
the earth with the foot, is used to mark the rows and make the depression in 
which the seeds are placed. 

Spruce is sown twice as thickly as pine and about one fifth of an inch apart. 
Larch is sown as thickly as spruce, because fifty per cent of the seeds do not 
germinate. Spruce and larch seed is covered to a depth of a quarter of an inch 
with humus or sand, or with a mixture of both, while pine is sprinkled with it 
so lightly as to barely hide the grains from sight. 

Branches of jiinc are then laid on the beds; but spruce brush is not used, as 
the dead needles, falling on the ground, are liable to become heated and thus 
injure the seedlings. When the plants appear and are a month or so old, the 
branches are placed upright for shade. These are taken off in a dry time to allow 
the night dew to refresh the plants, and are removed entirely when the seedlings 
are strong enough to do without shade. 




K :.hi^ HTEl I'liO I O. 



FOREST TREK NURSERY IN THE THURINGEK WALD, SAXE-GOTHA. 




XURSEKV PLANTED EXCLUSI \ i,|. V WlTil N.)R\VAV Sl'RUCE. 

AT RUKLA, SAXE-GOTIIA. 



FOKKST NURSERIES AND NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 223 

Ammnniatcd superphosphate is scattered broadcast over the beds in June, 
twenty grammes per square meter, preferably just before a rainfall. It may be 
added a second time a month later, but usually this is not necessary. In autumn 
moss is laid between the rows to keep the seedlings from heaving; if a su[)ply 
of moss cannot be obtained conveniently, dead leaves are used for the same 
l)urpose. This covering is removed the next spring, as soon as the danger Irom 
frost is over. 

vSeedlings are transplanted when one year old, as they grow better tlian wi.en 
left in the seed bed until they are two years old, and the transplanting i:; Ijss 
expensive. The seedlings are put into water when lifted from the seed bed to 
prevent them from drying out in any degree whatever during the transfer. They 
are set out in the transplant beds two and one half inches apart and in rows five 
inches apart, just wide enough to permit the use of a hoe in weeding. They are 
left in the transplant bed two years; but if they are to be used in a plantation 
on grassy land they are held there one year more, or until they are four years old. 

The nursery near Annathal has a rectangidar area of 100 by 13S feet, sloping 
sliglitl}' to the southeast. The natural soil is a fertile loam, enriched by a liberal 
admixture with forest humus and supplemented annually v.ith mineral fertilizers. 

In the gri.)und jilan the beds are laid out sixtv-tive feet long and three and 
one quarter feet wiile. A walk, three feet in width, runs across the middle of 
the [ilot and around its sides at the fence-. Long paths, twenty-t\\o in num1)er and 
a foot wide each, se[}arate the beds, with one wiile i)ath down the middle. 

The seedlings in the germination beds, one and two years old,* are in rows 
running across tlie beds, the seed having been sown in furrows or depressed lines, 
not broadcast o\'er the entire surface as practiced in many European nurseries. 
But the transplants are set out in rows running lengthwise of the beds, six rows 
in a bed. The coniferous sjiecies propagated in this nursery consist entirely of 
Norwa}- spruce and Scotch jMue. In a small portion of the enclosure there are some 
thrift}- broad-leaved plants — horse chestnut, Euro[)t*an alder and speckled alder. 

Another nursery, in an atljoining range (in the road to Liebenstein, has an area 
of 120 bv 150 feet, and is situated on ground sloping to the south, where it is 
bordered on that siile by a t'learing of ten acres or more. The other three sides 
are closely hemmed in by a dense forest. The beds are three and one quarter liy 
fifty feet, C(_intaining fi\e rows of plants, lengthwise, mostly Ni.irway sjiruc:,'. 
Quite a large area, comparatively, is occupietl by sycamore maples, three years old. 

In making a forest plantation in Thuringia the transplants are set out by 
women mostlv, who work for one and one half marks jier day of ten hours. The 



*Seed beds are made each year. 



224 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FESH ANM GAME COMMLSSIOX. 

plants are placed in the field at a cost of one pfennig each, including all incidental 
expenses. They are planted at intervals of one meter, or 10,000 plants per hectare 
— about 4,000 per acre. 

ilost of the nurseries in the Thiiringer Wald are small, each with an area of 
less than one acre. But at Ruhla there is a permanent one of two and one half 
hectares (six and one quarter acres) planted entirely with Norway spruce. In 
fertilizing, four centners (four hundred and forty pounds) of Thomasmehl and two 
centners of kainit are used for one morgen or cjuarter hectare. , After the seeds 
have germinated in the seed beds ammoriated superphosphate is strewn between 
the rows. 

The seed is sown by hand, about the end of ^Nlay, in drills along the beds so 
that the plants can be jjrotected with moss in the late autumn. The seed is sown 
thickly. No screens are used. The seedlings stand in the seed beds until two 
years old, when they are removed to other beds, where they remain two years 
more. As a general rule, four-year-old transplants are used in making a plantation. 

Prcissia. 

The forest at Fricdriclisruh, near Hambiu-g, covers 18,750 acres, divided into 
eight reviers. The eight nurseries necessary for the annual planting occupy, in all, 
four hectares, or about ten acres of ground. One of the best of these is situated 
ab(.)ut two miles from the railroad station at Friedrichsruh, in the Bismarck Forest, 
a large tract of woodland presented to the German Chancellor by the government 
in recognition of his services in the Franco-Prussian war. 

This nursery has an enclosure iif 200 by 150 feet, is on level ground and is 
surrounded on all sides by an old forest, mostly beech, which comes close to the 
fence. 

The coniferous plants raised here are mostly rottanne, with a few beds of 
Douglas spruce. About one fourth of the area is devoted to broad-leaf plants, 
the greater part of which are pedunculate oak. There is no arrangement for 
screening the seed beds to protect them from birds; but a stuffed hawk, perched 
on a stake close by, seems to answer the same purpose to a satisfactory extent. 

At the Revier Ilohne, in the Hartz, temporary nurseries located in the center 
of the planting ground are the rule. The soil, derived from granitic formations, 
has a natural fertility that is sufficient for the propagation of plants; but if a plot 
is used a second time, mineral fertilizers, of the kinds already described, are 
applied, with some lime (kaik) also in a few instances. Its elevation is only forty- 
five feet above the sea. In both seed beds and transplant beds the rows run 
lengthwise. 




*■ * 



*^#.-^4 



* ■ 



T-, 



f^ 






FOREST TREE Nl•RSER^■, NEAK I'RIEDRirHSRl'H. NORTH ]^RUSSL\. 







V 



^e 



■s 

.!<* 
-« 
■< 



pi 









NURSERY FOR DlsCIDEOL'S TREES, BISMARCK FOREST. 

GERMAN' I-iiI;KSTr-KS IX UXIFOKM. 



FOREST NURSERIES AM.) NURSERY MEIHODS IN EUROPE. 2J5 

As usual, in Xorthern Germany, spruce is cultivated alnmst exclusively, nr to a 
large extent. Seed, enated with lead-oxide, is thickly sown in the germinating betls 
about the middle i:)f May, in rows four and one half inches apart. Brush is not laid 
on the beds, as this is considered unnecessary except as a protection Irom birds; 
but moss is used to pi-otect the seedlings during the winter. 'Idle latter is placed 
on the beds in < ictobcr and is not removed in the spring until the snow has melted. 
Seedlings are usuad)- left in the beds two yeai's — <>v one year if very strong 
and thrifty — ami are then transplanted in rows six inches apain, where they remain 
two years; but if the held where they are to be set (Jut linally is covered witir 
grass the plants art; given one year more in the nursery beds. 

The Forest of Crabow, in Mecklenburg, belongs to the city. It has an area 
of 0,470 acres A forester (stadtfdrster) manages it; a hunter (stadtyager) protects 
the game, and an overseer (forstaufseher) guards it against tire and trespass. The 
overseers ai'e not technically educated men, Imt are chosen from the ranks of 
the workmen. The revi.nues are paid into the city treasury, after which the net 
income is ap|ilied to the reduction of taxes. This custom is common in most 
of the citv and communal forests in Germany. 

As the soil in the vicinity of Grabow is sandy, its forests consist almost 
entirely of Scoieh [liiic (J'iiiiis sj'/:'tS/?-;s), a small area only lieing planted with 
spruce {Pici;! i:u</sti) and silver tir (Alucs pirtiiiata). The broaddeaved trees also 
ot:cupy a small an/a, where the fertility of the soil may indicate their use. But 
the soil is very poor, to a great extent consisting of a light colored sand which, 
even wdien damp, will not cohere if squeezed in the hand. 

The nursery is located at an altitude of 335 feet. In summer the temperature 
rises as high as tliirl\-two tlegrees (Reaumur) in the sun, and twenty-four degrees 
in the shade; in winter it falls as low as twenty degrees below zero, same 
standard. The winters, however, are mild. The first frost occurs about the 
middle of November, and freezing weather is liable to last until the middle of 
April, with an occasional frost in ]May. 

The seed for the nursery is generally purchased from commercial dealers, 
mostly from a seed house in Darmstadt. The seed beds require a large amount 
of mineral fertilizers, owing to the barrenness of the natural soil. For this pur- 
jiose the forester uses Tliomas meal, sixteen per cent citrates, in quantities 
of SSo pounds ])er hectare (j'j acres); carnallite, about 2,200 [lounds per hectare, 
and slaked lime, 6,000 pounds per hectare. These compounds are mixed with fine 
turf, scattered thickly over the ground in winter and in the following spring are 
worked thoroughly into the soil. The turf is also strewn between the seedlings 
in the second summer <if their growth. 
15 



226 KLl'Ol;!' OV THE FOREST, EISH AM) (lAME COMMISSION. 

The Grabow nursery has an area of about half a hectare. The beds are laid 
out forty inches wide, and of any convenient length. The sidepaths are one foot, 
end paths thirty-two inches, and wagon roads ten feet in width. 

The seed is sown from the fifth to the fifteenth of April, in rows about four 
inches apart and so thickly that the grains touch one another in many places. 
Sowing in rows instead of broadcast is done to facilitate weeding. The seeds are 
covered, about half a centimeter deep, with natural soil, unfertilized, which is not 
pressed down as dene elsewhere in many instances. Scotch pine is usually sown 
first. No screens are used; but the beds are sprinkled daily in time of drought, 
enough water being used to moisten the ground thoroughly. 

Scotch pine is left in the seed beds for one year only, after which the 
seedlings of this species are sent to the plantations. If left in the seed beds 
after they are t)ne year old the crowded condition of the plants induces the fungal 
growth known as '- sc/iiittc. ' If, however, the plants are needed for a plantation 
on grassy land, the seedlings are transplanted into the nursery beds, set out there 
eight inches apart each way, and allowed to remain another year before their 
removal tn the field. 

;^avaria. 

The forests in the Spessart are composed so largely of oak and beech that in 
this region the proportion of nurseries is not so large as elsewhere. 

In the Forstamt Ilain the plots are about one eighth of an acre each in size. 
In (ine nf these, near the village of Hain, various coniferous species are grown — ■ 
white pine, Norway spruce and larch predominating. 

The methcid by which the beds are covered for winter is somewhat jjcculiar. 
Green branthes <if silver fir are used for this i)urpose. The beds containing white 
pine yearlings have each a pole fixed along the center at a height of one foot 
above the ground. Long branches are laid against this, with their lower ends 
resting on the ])aths between the beds. The white pine and Norway spruce, 
two years old, have twigs laid between the rows. The Norway spruce, one year 
old, is covered with the branches laid flat upon the bed, entirely covering it. The 
larch is left uncovered through the winter. 

The nursery lies almost level. It is protected from deer by a fence of woven 
wire with a round top-rail, above which are two strands of barbed wire. In its 
minor details the management is the same as that at most other nurseries 
in Germany. 

The methods prevailing in the vari(.)us nurseries as described here will give a 
fair idea of the technique employed. Further examples might be given, but they 
would offer no additional information and would involve unnecessary repetition. 




WERDIXG TRANSPLANT BF.US oF SCOTCH PINE. 
Tins nursi:rv beloxcs to tuf; cnv (.if (.r.\i>.<i\\ , mecki.f.nburg. 



A. k'NEClf] Kl . riKlTr 




Kf)REbi' tri-:e nursery, geralvnv. 

IN THE FlIREGROliNn ARE BED? CF RED OAK SEE HI .1 \i ;S. TWO YEARS ilLD. IN THE BALKGROLIMI, SAME SPECIES, 

F(.ILK YEARS Ul.ll. 



FOREST NURSEKILS AM) NUKSLRV METHODS IN EUROI'E. 



2 2 7 



In Cicncral 



By way of summary it may be said that, in general, the follDwiiig methods 
are observed: 

In locating a nursery nn great impi>rtancc is attached tn the ()uesti<in of 
exposure or slnpt_-, the site bi'ing selected with reference to reasons that are nmre 
essential ii^ connectic)n with the management nf the rexier. Neither is the 
altitude taken intu cdnsideration, as nurseries inav lie found everywhere, from 
the low Countries at sea level up to the mountain forests of the Apennines or 
Vosges 3,000 teet above tide. The location may be determined bv the nearness 
of water, which may be neetleii for sprinkling the beds in tmie of drought, or for 
irrigation. Cut th^ use of water is aviided as far as possible on account of the 
extra expense, and because, as claimeil liy some, tliat when once resorted to it 
must lie continued. 

Square or rectangular enclosures are generally made in order t<i secure a better 
ground plan regularity in the form of the beds, and to economize in feni. ing. 

In nearly every instance the enclosure is closeh' surrounded by a high forest 
that furnishes climatic pi'otection to a great extent, although in a few localities 
the foresters deem the shade from the trees as somewhat of a detriment. All 
use carefully preparetl or screened earth, free from gravel, stones and roots, to 
which a liberal addition of compost or mineral fertilizers is made each year. 

In making the ground plan long Ijeils are preferred, with the rows of transjilants 
running lengthwise. But in many nurseries the seed beds are jilanted with cross- 
rows to facilitate weeding. The broadcast method for S(.)wing seed beds, however, 
seems to be a favorite one. "Where this is practiced the seeds are distributed 
thicklv and as evenlv as possible oxer the surface tif the bed, after which the top 
earth is raked over carefullv and smoothly to cover the seeds. Another method 
consists in sprea<ling a very thin layer of rich, Hne earth over the seeds instead of 
raking them tmder; and it is ilaimed that a more even catch is thus sectu'ed. 

In order that the ground may attain the highest degree of fertility the forester 
often suspends operations in his nvrsery at intervals of four or five years, and, after 
the plants have lieen taken up, allows the grmmil to lie fallow one season, as the 
exposure to rain, frost and snow has a recuperative effect on the soil. ("lood 
results are further obtained liy using the ground one season for an agricultural 
crop, in the cultivation of which manure is used; and there is in addition a 
beneficial working or division of the soil 

The size and number of the nurseries under any one management is propor- 
tioned to the area of the plantations to be made. If two-year-old seedlings are 



228 RErORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

to be used in the fieldwork, set out at spaces of four feet each way, the nurseries 
for this purpose have, as a general rule, a combined area equal to one per cent, 
or less, of that of the planting grounds. Schlicu says one half of one per cent.* 
But if four-year-old transplants are to be used the nurseries must necessarily 
have a larger area, one which in their aggregate will be equivalent to four per 
cent of that of the jilantations. This percentage, however, applies to coniferous 
species only. Broad-leaf plants, which are usually set out at wider spaces, require 
a much larger percentage of area for their propagation. An enclosure of two 
acres, after setting apart enough ground for seed beds, will furnish each year 
about 13S.000 four-year-old transplants of coniferous species, the number varying 
somewhat according \.o the space allotted to paths and roadways. 

A nursery may be jjermanent or temporary as forest conditions may require. 
The latter is made in some instances merely to supply plants for some particular 
locality, after which, being no longer necessary, it is abandoned. If the plot will 
not be needed again for many years it is allowed to grow up to a young forest, 
some of the taller and more promising transplants being left in the beds at 
proper intervals for this purpose. 

In most nurseries screens are used for protection against heat and frost and for 
protection against birds; and the beds are covered during the wii:ter with moss 
or litter to prevent the seedlings from heaving. But the practice in these respects 
varies with the species and according to the climate or soil. 

Protection from Deer. 

Although every nursery is surrounded by a fence or hedge to protect the stock 
from the deer, there are often large areas just outside the enclosure, freshly 
planted with four-year-olds, to which these animals have access. If the leaders on 
the plants are cropiicd by deer or cattle, the young tree is retarded in growth 
and is liable to become ilistorted in shape. 

At a nursery in Thuringia a large area just outside the fence was recently 
filled with five-year-uld transplants of Norway spruce. To prevent the deer from 
nipping the leaders, fur which these animals have a decided partiality, each plant 
had a sharp tin guard bent around the tip. (See illustration.) These tins 
l)efore using are flat, nne and three quarter inches long, one half an inch wide, 
and notched into fmu" points at the top edge. This strip of tin is bent into a 
square, each side having a point, and slipped on the leader so that the points 
project above the tip. They are bought by the thousand, and are placed on the 



■Schlicli's Manual of Forestry. Vol. II, p. 00. 



FOREST NURSERIES Ai\D NURSERY METHODS IN EUkUl'E. 



229 



plants at a merely nominal expense. As a deer nips at the leader first instead of 
the side shoots, its sensitive nose receives a pricking that induces the animal to 
desist immediately from further eft'(.rt. 

This device has proved very effective. But the tins fall off in time, become 
rusty_ and when the barefooted women and children who work in the nurseries 
and plantations step on one of them lockjaw is 
liable to ensue. Deaths from this cause have 
occurred so frequently that some foresters will 
no longer permit their use. A forstmeister at 
Eisenach, who deprecated their use strong] v, 
secures pr^jtection for his plants Ijy painting the 
leader on each with a mixture in which beef's 
blood torms a large component, the putrid odor 
proving as efficacious and as repulsive to the 
nose of the deer as the shar[)-pointed tin. Small 
wads of c(jtton or tow tied to the terminal buds are also used by some foresters 
to protect young jilants, Init this method requires so much time in affixing the 
material that it is regarded generally as expensive and impractical. 




Shape of tin fjuard before usin^. It is bent 
squarely at the ;ilaces indicated by dotted lines 
befi>rc phitini,' it uii the lip t»f llie Icailer. 



Commercial Nctrticrtcs. 



The commercial nurseries in Germany are remarkable for their great areas, 
intelligent management and economical methods. Their annual outi)ut of plants and 
seedlings is figured in millions — many millions •'■■ — and their superior advantages 
enable them to supply, at a profit, the demantl from forest reviers and also from 
the smaller nurseries in bhirope and America, the pro])rietors of which jirefer to 
buy their seedlings instead of operating seed f)eds themselves. These commercial 
nurseries are well worth the careful attention and personal observatii.m of any 
one who is interested in this branch of silvics. 

The ])rincipal nurseries of this class are located at Halstenbck, in Holstein, 
and at Knittelsheim (railroad station at Bellheim), in the Rheinpfalz. The former 
is near the city of Hamburg, and the Amaricair forestry student who crosses the 
ocean im the Hamfmrg line will find Halstenbck a convenient place to visit in 
pursuing his studies. The latter is not far from the northern part of the Black 
Forest, and is easilv reached from there. 



* The advertising circular of one firm tliis year showing the number of plants of each species 
for sale indicates a stock on hand of 56.959,000 seedlings and transplants. 



2;o 



REPORT OK THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



There are several firms at Halstenbek engaged in this business one of them 
having 200 acres or more laid out in beds, or large plots without paths, with an 
annual product of several million plants. They supply the managers of State, 
communal and private forests who have nn nurseries of their own, or who find 
that they can purchase their plants cheaper than they can propagate them on 
their own reviers, or who may need an extra supply at times in addition to that 
raised on their own land. Shipments are also made to America, both to foresters 
and nurserymen. The latter import one and two year old seedlings, and set them 
out in their nurseries. 

A visit to the commercial nurseries of Germany, and an observation of their 
immense annual output, will give some idea of the great extent which the planting 
of artificial forests has attained throughout Europe. It indicates clearly the prac- 
tical value of the system and commands the attention of American foresters, who 
will find in it a good precedent for similar work at home. 

A notal)Ie feature of the business at these places is their large sales of two- 
year-old seedlings and three-year-old transplants. The demand for four-year-old 
transplants is comparatively small, due largely to the extra price and greater expense 
of packing and freight. 

The three-year-old plants may be seedlings, or yearlings that, having been 
transplanted, remained two years in the beds; or, two-year-old seedlings that were 
taken up and given one year in the transplant beds. 

The prices of coniferous plants at the commercial nurseries, delivered free on 
board cars at the nearest railway station, are about as follows: 



SPECIES. 



AgC; years. 



Inches. 



Per I 



White pine, once transplanted . 
W'liite spruce, once transplanted 
Norway spruce, once transplanted 
Wliite pine, once transplanted . 
Norway spruce, once transplanted 
Douglas spruce, once transplanted 
Larch, once transplanted . 
Scotch pine, once transplanted . 
White pine seedlings .... 

Larch seedlings 

Norway spruce seedlings . 
Douglas spruce seedlings . 
Scotch pine seedlings .... 



8 to 15 

8 to 16 

ID to 18 

4 to 6 

6 to J2 

8 to 16 

16 to 22 

4 to 6 

3 to 4 
6 to 15 

4 to 12 

5 to 12 
2 to 3 



$- 75 
2 50 
2 50 
I 75 
I 75 
5 50 
4 50 
I 25 

1 50 

2 00 
75 

3 00 
50 



!HMiMiaMtWIMMaM«NMw9MMMM<an««i 



tHS\r3 




COMMERCIAL XURSERV, HALSTEXBFK, HOLSTEIX. 

NOTE THE HEDGES OE WHITE CEDAR, TO SCREEN' THE BEDS FROM WIND. 



A. KNECIITEL, FHUTO. 



.««W 






f^ 



■^ '- 



*'*' ' 



^ ^ 



A. KNEI M I EL. I-HOTO. 



FIELD OF WHITE PINE, EoUR ^EARS OLD. TRAXSLLAXTED. 

COM.MERtl.M. NURSERY, (iER.MAXV. 



For large orders (50,000 to 100,000) a satisfactory discount is made from llie 
above figures; but the price-lists of tlie nurserymen vary at times, influenced liy a 
surphis stociv or scarcity of the |iarticular species quoted. The j)lants, wrapped in 
ilam[) moss, are paclced for shipment in large baskets, or in crates constructed 
of open willow-work, and an extra charge is made fur packing and packages. On 
shiinnents to the United States there is a tariff of twenty-five per cent ad \-alorem, 
which together with the freight and the risk in transportation — the long time 
in A\'hich the plants are packed — renders an importatioii a somewhat iloubtful 
exjiedient. 

The methods employed in the commercial nurseries are substantially the same 
as in the nurseries belonging to the forest reviers; but more attention is paid 
to minor details. The supiily of seed, h<jwever, is purchased from salesmen instead 
of collecting in from the forest. The seeds of all needle-trees are kejit during winter 
in sacks, stored in a cocil place, l)Ut the seed is iir)t mi.xed with sand as ailvised in 
some textbooks. The sowing is done in Ajiril and i\Iay. 

The Ilalstenbek nurseries are on level ground, at an altitude of onl}- thirty-two 
feet above title. The sectl beds are made of black soil — a good loam that will 
not fall apart if pressed in the hand. i\Ianure from the streets of Plamburg is 
used largely as a fertilizer, and it is scattered over the ground in winter. 

The seed beds are mostly four feet wide and aliout si.xty-five feet long. 
Broadcast sowing is the rule, in order to oiitain a fuller utilization of the soil. 
If the seeds when tested shijw a high percentage of germination, they are sown 
so that the grains lie almia one quarter of ai: inch apart; if the seed is poor it is 
sown more thickly. The coniferous plants are not screenetl ; but in time of 
drought the beds are sjjrinkled, some of the nurseries having installed an irriga- 
tion plant for this purpose. 

White pine, Norway spruce, balsam {Abirs Itahaiiu-a) and silver fir are left in 
the seed beds until two years old; sometimes the firs are left still another year. 
Scotch pine can be left in the seed bed only one year with safety, as the plants 
are liable to suffer from "schiitte," a fungous disease that is developed in this 
species by the crowded condition t^f the seedlings in the second year. 

"White pine and Norway spruce, wheii transplanted, are set two inches a[)art 
in the row, if the plants are to remain there only one year; but they must be 
placed farther apart if they are to remain a longer time in order to permit of 
their increased growth. The rows arc made with spaces of six inches between 
them, or wider if the plants are to stand there two years. These simple 
retiuirements must be observed in (.)rder to secure thrifty plants and to avoid 
crowding in the beds. 



232 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

Scotch pine yearlings, when transplanted, are placed two and a half inches 
apart in the row, and the rows are laid out ten inches apart. This wide spacing 
of the rows is to prevent any loss from schiitte. If this species is given another 
year in the nursery the plants must be transplanted again and given more space 
for growth.* 

In Germany Scotch pine is generally taken directly to the forest plantations 
when the seedlings are one year old. If the}' are to be set out on grassy land 
however, they are allowed the benefit of one year first in a transplant bed; and 
if the grass is thick or apt to overshadow them too much, they are transplanted 
twice. 

From the Halstenbek nurseries white pine is often sent to the for.est when two 
years old, untransplanted ; or three years old, t)nce transplanted, if they are to 
to be used on grass land. It is claimed by the commercial nurserymen that this 
species grows too slim and that the root system is poorly developed if left in 
the seed l)ed more than two years. 

Douglas spruce, balsam hr {Abies concolor) and silver fir are protected from 
frost for the first two years by mats made of coarse reeds supported by long- 
poles laid along the beds on stakes one foot in height. The Douglas spruce is 
protected from the wind by hedges, for which purpose white cedar is planted at 
one side of the beds. These hedges are used to considerable extent at Halstenbek, 
although they are not essential to the growth of other species. They also serve 
to shelter the workmen from the cold winds prevalent there in spring and fall. 

The seeds of most of the broad-leaved trees are sown in March and April; but 
the seeds of basswood, ash and thorn are kept in "seed-chests" eighteen months 
before planting. These seed-chests are compartments made of brick, with an 
inside measurement of thirty-nine inches in length, twenty inches in width, and 
twenty inches high. They are placed out doors, partly below the surface of the 
ground, in rows of ten, each row surrounded by a thick hedge of white cedar. 
The seeds st<jred in them are usually mi.ved with sand, although this is not 
deemed essential, and a mat made of straw is laid over them. With this treat- 
ment the seeds when planted germinate and come up quickly, usually in two 
weeks. 

In the propagation of deciduous species, beds are made about the same as for 
the needle-trees, and the seeds are sown in rows lengthwise with the bed, seven 
rows in each. The drills or depressed grooves are made Avith a machine; but 



* While this treatment of Scotcli pine may be necessary at Halstenbek to prevent disease, in 
American nurseries this species is left in the seed beds two years, and in the transplant beds two 
or three years with perfect .safety, no matter how closely the seeds may be sown or the transplants 
placed. 



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WEKDIXG TRANSPLANT BEDS. 

COMMERCIAL NLrRSERY, GERMANY. 




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LARGE BEDS OF NORWAY SPRUCE, FOUR YEARS OLD, ONCE TRANSPLANTED. 

COMMERCIAL NURSERY, GERMANY. 



FOREST NURSERIES AM) NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 233 

the seed is sown and covered by hand. Tlie rows are seven inches apart, 
but after one year the alternate rows are taken <iut. The seeds are sown 
thickly, so that the plants will stand about four inches apart. 

Needle-plants are shipped in large, cylindrical baskets — Scotch pine, one year 
old, 15 000 in a basket; white pine, one year old 30,000; two years, 10,000; three 
years, 7.000: and Norway spruce, two years 15,000; three years, cS,ooo. Paper is 
laid in the basket, on the Ijottoni and around the sides, next to which is placed 
a layer of moss. A bunch of straw is tlien placed vertically in the center of the 
basket. The jilants, which are tied into small bundles before taking them from 
the field, are [ilaced in the liasket with their tops towards the outside. From the 
center to the side of the basket three circular rows of bundles can be placed, 
which, however, overlap each other at one end like the shingles on a roof. Each 
layer of bundles is covered with liiose turf liefore the next layer is put into the 
basket. The bunch of s^raw standing in the center permits tho escape of heat, 
the jiaper prevents the escape of moisture, while the moss and turf hold the 
water that supplies the necessary moisture during transportation. 

When a shipment is to be made the plants are lifted from the beds during 
the day tied in small bundles and each bundle buried lightly in the earth, this 
work being done usually by women. Then in the evening the buntlles are gathered 
and hauled to a cellar where they are packed in baskets the next day for ship- 
ment. Two men pack from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 plants (one and two years old) 
in a day. The baskets are then weighed, loaded on wagons and hauled to the 
railroad station, which at Halstenbek is close by the nurseries. Broad-leaf trees 
are put up in large bundles and wrapped in straw for shipment, the roots covered 
with burlap. The projirietor of a large commercial nursery at Knittelsheim, in his 
instructions to purchasers, says: 

" Plants should be taken from the railway st;ition promptly after their arrival. 
If thcv cannot be jilanted immediately they shoukl he heeled in, care being taken 
that tiic roots are properly covered with earth. During transportation, whether 
on the railroad or on the delivery w;igons, the plants should be covered with 
straw or otherwise sheltered from the su:i and winds. If, on account of frosty 
weather, they cannot be set out immediately they should be juit in a cellar in 
uijright position close together. Plants which arrive in a heated contlition, as some- 
times happens with Scotch pine, should be treated the same way. Immediate 
watering while stored in damp cellars must be avoided, or the roots will become 
rotten; and in no case should frozen plants be put in a warm room. It is also 
dangerous to hold a Scotch pine yearling in the hand longer than necessary, as 
the warmth will affect it unfavorably. Shortening the roots will, in most cases, 



234 REPORT OK THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

promote a better development of the fibrous growth. A sharp knife should 
be used, and a downward cut made. In trimming transplants it is sufficient to 
shorten the root-hairs merely and to remove the dead ones. Transplants cost 
more than seedlings; but, in most cases, it is false economy to buy the latter, 
for transplants are stronger, have a better root system, and are more able to 
withstand all unfavorable influences." 

Commercial 3ecdsmen. 

In all nurseries, whether commercial or otherwise, a supply of good seed is an 
important matter. To a great extent the commercial nurseries, and many of the 
forest nurseries as well, obtain their seed from dealers who make a specialty 
of collecting, preparing and storing forest-tree seed in large quantities. Mercantile 
houses that deal in seeds only may be found in most any of the principal cities 
of Europe. Having superior facilities, through specialized work for carrying on 
this business they are able to offer better seed and at lower prices than the 
nursery managers can collect it. 

Seeds of the principal coniferous species can be bought from any of the large 
seed houses in Europe at the following rates, subject to variation at times caused 
by a scarcity or plenty of some particular kind: 

Pel pound. 

^Vhite pine .... 1)2 05 

Scotch pine 57 

Norway spruce . . 23 

Silver fir 14 

European larch 35 



Seeds that show a very high percentage of germination niay command a slightly 
higher price. 

Their houses in which the cones of the needle-trees are dried and the seed 
e.xtracted are each furnished with a specially devised apparatus. In some of them 
the heat is regulated by electricity in order to secure a more even temperature and 
thereby avoid any overheating of the ones, which would destroy the germi- 
nating quality of the seeds. They also hive special faci ities for cleaning, drying 
and storing seed; and in every detail the methods employed are based on long 
experience in this special w(_irk. 

In any of these seed houses may be seen some kind of device or apparatus for 
testing the vitality of seeds and their percentage of germination, an important 



FOREST NURSERIES ANH NURSERY METHODS IN EUROPE. 235 

item in the business. Still, in order to satisfy customers, official tests are also 
obtained by prominent dealers. A seed house in Knittelsluiin advertises that its 
collections are tested for "purity and ii,erminatii>n " by the "Swiss Control Office 
for the E.xamination of Seeds," at Zurich, Switzerland. 

Foresters who gather seed fur use in their own nurseries have various well- 
known tests of a simple character tn determine its value. lUit there are several 
government stations to which sam[iles of stock may be sent to be tested and to 
determine the percentage of germination. The i)rincipal ones are located at 
Eberswalde and Tharandt, in Germany; Zurich, in Switzerland, and Marial runn, 
in Austria. 

These official tests enable the nursery manager to avoiil anv loss caused b\- sowing 
worthless grains, to protect himself against fraud on the jiart of unscrupulous 
dealers and to determine the ([uantitv that should be sewn. 

If a report is needed immediately from the station, a number of seeds are cut 
open and examined for color, ])lunipness, taste, odor, etc. I'or example, the 
kernel of the beech and the chestnut, if all right, is white and verv pleasant 
to the taste; that of the oak is reddish white; the ma[ile, green; the ash, white 
and waxy; pine, white with a strong odor of tiu'iientine. Coniferous seeds are 
crushed with the finger nail upon a piece of white paper, upon which a gootl seed 
leaves an oily stain. 

If time jieriuit the seeds may be actually germinated. The larger sorts, such 
as the oak seeds, are placed in vessels filled with earth, covered the proper depth, 
kept moist and at a temperatin-e favorable to germination. Conifer seeds are 
placed between folds of flannel which are dipped into water kejit at a medium 
temperature. There are also several forms of porous vessels made specially for 
such tests. 

It is ho;'ed that the descriptions given in the foregoing pages, together vrith 
the illustrations accompanying them, may be useful in calling public attention 
to the practical value of planted forests. In America the reforesting of denuded 
lands Ijy artificial means — the formation of planted forests — is a (piestion that 
sooner or later will confront our fores'.crs. The student, on graduating from a 
forestry school, sh mid supplement his course of study with a trij) aliroad in 
order to see tl:e plantations there and the nin'serics which are an indispensable 
adjunct to this particular system oi forestry. 



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